why do we see only one side of the moon?

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• The moon is the natural satellite (a satellite is a celestial means heavenly body which moves around the planet in the same way as planets move around the sun) of the earth.

• The diameter of the moon is one-quarter of the diameter of the earth.

• It appears so big because it is close to the earth.

• The moon is made up of mountains, debris, etc, and does not support conditions favorable for life, hence life is not possible on the moon.

Do you know in total only 59 percent of the moon surface is visible to the earth?

1. Far side: The Far side of the moon is the hemisphere of the moon which always faces away from the earth.

- The phrase dark side of the moon is used for the far side of the moon.

- Dark side does not mean the absence of light but the part which is known to us.

- We have not seen the far side of the moon, therefore it is known as the far side of the moon.

2. Near side: The near side of the moon is the hemisphere of the moon which is permanently turned towards the earth.

Now there are two sides of the moon:

THE FAR SIDE

THE NEAR SIDE

Now let us know why we only see one side of the moon...

• The Moon is directly illuminated (provided light) by the Sun, and the cyclically varying viewing conditions cause the lunar phases( shape of the directly sunlit portion of the moon as seen from the earth's surface).

• The unilluminated portions of the Moon can sometimes be dimly seen as a result of earth-shine, which is sunlight reflected off the surface of the Earth and onto the Moon.

• Since the Moon's orbit is both somewhat elliptical and inclined to the ecliptic plane, librations allow up to 59% of the Moon's surface to be viewed from Earth (but only half at any instant).

• The time taken by the moon to spin on its axis is exactly the same it takes to spin on the earth's orbit.

• The Moon orbits Earth once every 27.3 days and spins on its axis once every 27.3 days. This means that although the Moon is rotating, it always keeps one face toward us. Known as “synchronous rotation”.

• Since the Moon's orbit is both somewhat elliptical and inclined to the ecliptic plane, only 59% of the Moon's surface to be viewed from Earth (but only half at any instant) means one side of the moon is seen from the earth's surface.

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